Terrible Payment System

[Catapult]

I have sent the following letter to SE:

To the accounts and billing team responsible for Final Fantasy XIV,

I would like to bring your attention to the following topic in the official ffxiv forums:
http://forum.square-enix.com/ffxiv/t...Payment-System

I understand that a lot of the responses there are filled with frustration, but beneath the rage are a series of genuine concerns that the community has been expressing since FFXIV was released. These concerns can be summed up with the following points. To each point, I have a question. I hope that the answers I can receive will at least help put the concerns of the community to rest, or perhaps even see that they are addressed.

There is substantial unrest regarding the legitimacy and reputation of ClickandBuy:
Without exaggerating, ClickandBuy has a very poor reputation in the FFXIV community. Those who have read the fine print have discovered a wealth of fees including annual administration charges, currency conversion fees for those outside the UK or Euro Zone, credit card usage charges (every transaction in the case of FFXIV) in addition to any additional fees that a user's bank may impose.
Furthermore, some banks have been found to put a block on transactions form ClickandBuy, as they deem the service to be disreputable and suspicious. On top of this, if one were to terminate their Square Enix account, this has been found to have no influence on the ClickandBuy account's activity or status. Persons have also had difficulty terminating their ClickandBuy accounts due to week-long delays in, or non-responsiveness of, the ClickandBuy customer service team. Many people have been avoiding ClickandBuy like the plague for these reasons.
Does Square Enix acknowledge that there are concerns within the player base regarding the ClickandBuy payment method and can Square Enix explain why this specific company was selected to offer a payment method in the first instance? Would Square Enix be prepared to consider employing an alternative company if the need arose?

A restriction of availability of payment options:
Firstly it is apparent that Crysta is not available in all regions. This includes regions that have access to the underpinning programs that make Crysta possible, such as Australia. In some of these regions, some players are finding that ClickandBuy does not recognise their territory, leaving them with no payment option at all. Examples of this can be found within the official forum thread referred to above.
Is it possible to implement Crysta in additional regions and, if so, what are the reasons for this not having been implemented so far? Additionally, what assurances can Square Enix offer that this game will be able to be played anywhere in the world, given some countries currently have no payment method?

A needlessly complicated billing system:
Many players are comparing the complexity of setting up their payment methods to FFXI's PlayOnline system. Questions being asked are why players cannot be billed directly by Square Enix rather than going through a series of separate entities.
What is the reason for not continuing with the PlayOnline set-up and why has Square Enix chosen to employ external companies and processes instead?

FFXIV is in the unique position of having a free-to-play period while the game remains in its re-development phases. This offers Square Enix the opportunity to take the time to implement a world-class payment system. Conversely, it is my concern that if these questions from the player base are not addressed in time, it would lead to a mass-exodus of players once the first billing cycle begins. If the questions above could at least be answered to provide context and information to the player base, then Square Enix's billing system may be able to gain some supporters from within to assist in preventing such a financial disaster. Currently, the community is festering in their dissatisfaction. I look forward to your response.

Kind regards,

*My name here*

People can write their own letters to SE customer support by going to
https://support.eu.square-enix.com/c...hp?id=903&la=2 , logging in on the right. I went the the catergories of Account/Billing, Billing issues and described my problems as "Payment options query", then proceeding to Email support.

Let's see what happens.

[Seirra_Lanzce]

we need more like in this thread... :|

[KaiKatzchen]

I have sent the following letter to SE:


People can write their own letters to SE customer support by going to
https://support.eu.square-enix.com/c...hp?id=903&la=2 , logging in on the right. I went the the catergories of Account/Billing, Billing issues and described my problems as "Payment options query", then proceeding to Email support.

Let's see what happens.

That is a very nice letter, I'll do the same!

[LillithaFenimore]

When my husband lost his wallet, and we had to cancel the card that the game was registered with, it took me two weeks to finally get someone on the phone and have the CC information changed...turned out, I just ended up opening up my own C&B account and putting the accounts under my CC information. That company is complete filth IMO. They should be done away with.

[LillithaFenimore]

OH wow, I just read the above letter, I think I'll be doing an alternate payment method and switing the accouts over right before billing goes live. This is ubsurd that they charge so much and some banks won't even deal with them.

[Reinheart]

When my husband lost his wallet, and we had to cancel the card that the game was registered with, it took me two weeks to finally get someone on the phone and have the CC information changed...turned out, I just ended up opening up my own C&B account and putting the accounts under my CC information. That company is complete filth IMO. They should be done away with.

Wow that is bad... SE really needs to change this. Already having enough headache FFXI allowed me to use US credit card on my Japanese FFXI account but FFXIV being region specific + because of the new company they are using I cannot use US credit card to pay on JP account. Had to buy US version FFXIV with NA account and finally can setup credit card through this crappy C&B.

[Seirra_Lanzce]

we need justice in this thread!

[Greencactaur]

I don't understand how people can disagree with this? One of the great things about mmo's are the options. Having multiple payment options in no way can hurt you, but only help you. If it doesn't affect you in any way why are you so against it? multiple payment options just means more players. I can't understand why anyone would be against this. -.-

[KaiKatzchen]

I don't understand how people can disagree with this? One of the great things about mmo's are the options. Having multiple payment options in no way can hurt you, but only help you. If it doesn't affect you in any way why are you so against it? multiple payment options just means more players. I can't understand why anyone would be against this. -.-

If you read the thread, the reason people are disagreeing with it is because it DOES effect them... Some can't even play because their area is blocked, some can't use C&B Because their banks won't let them because they don't trust the company, some don't have the option of buying Crysta!

So people are disagreeing because it is, in fact, effecting them. Please reread the thread.

[Seirra_Lanzce]

If you read the thread, the reason people are disagreeing with it is because it DOES effect them... Some can't even play because their area is blocked, some can't use C&B Because their banks won't let them because they don't trust the company, some don't have the option of buying Crysta!

So people are disagreeing because it is, in fact, effecting them. Please reread the thread.

I think Greencactaur meant for those who disagree that have no problems with the payment system.. well.. at least that what i read from my pov... .